School of Public Policy welcomes new Director, Susan Sterett

Susan Sterett, the new director of the School of
Public Policy, comes to UMBC after serving three years as a professor in the
Center for Public Administration and Policy and director of the Metropolitan
Institute at Virginia Tech. Prior to that, Sterett was the program director for
law and social sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and an
associate dean for the University of Denver’s Arts, Humanities, and Social
Sciences academic unit. She is also currently co-chair of the Committee on the
Status of Women in Political Science of the Western Political Science
Association.

Sterett views higher education as having an essential role
in American society today, and voices from the School of Public Policy as
having great potential to impact national conversations on major issues.

“Universities can broaden our horizons and invite us to
bring our inquiry to our communities,” she says, emphasizing, “UMBC’s proud
tradition of excellence and public service are evident in the problems faculty
and students in the School of Public Policy study, and the connection to
communities that they bring.”

As director, Sterett says, “I plan to foster the success of
current and incoming faculty, work to partner well across the social sciences,
and deepen outreach to potential students, while supporting the School’s
continued excellence in the policy areas of public management, health equity,
environmental justice, and education equity.”